Jo Boaler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jo Boaler
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| Born | 18 February 1964 England, United Kingdom
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| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Liverpool University King's College London |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics education |
| Institutions | Stanford University |
| Doctoral advisor | Paul Black Mike Askew |
Jo Boaler (born 18 February 1964) is a British education author and Nomellini-Olivier Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Boaler is involved in promoting reform mathematics and equitable mathematics classrooms. She is the co-founder and faculty director of youcubed a Stanford centre that offers mathematics education resources to teachers, students and parents. She is the author, co-author or editor of eighteen mathematics books, including Limitless Mind, Mathematical Mindsets, The Elephant in the Classroom and What's Math Got To Do With It?.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jo Boaler grew up outside of Birmingham England. Her mother was a secretary, and her father was a technical draftsman. Boaler's early math classes were largely mundane until an iconoclastic teacher introduced her class to a more nurturing and collaborative way to learn math. Boaler received a Bachelors in Psychology from Liverpool University in 1985. Boaler then began her career as a secondary mathematics teacher in urban London secondary schools, including Haverstock School, Camden. After her early career in secondary mathematics education, Boaler received a master's degree in Mathematics Education from King's College London with distinction in 1991. She completed her PhD in mathematics education at the same university and won the award for best PhD in education from the British Educational Research Association in 1997.
Academic career
Early career
In 1998, Jo Boaler became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University in the Graduate School of Education. She became an associate professor in 2000 and left as a full professor in 2006. From 2000 to 2004, Boaler served as the president of the International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education.
In 2006, Stanford mathematician R. James Milgram formally charged Boaler with scientific misconduct, which prompted Stanford University to investigate claims challenging the validity of her research. Stanford's initial investigation concluded by acknowledging ongoing debates in mathematics education and absolving Boaler of scientific misconduct stating that the allegations "do not have substance". Milgram, fellow mathematician Wayne Bishop (California State University) and statistician Paul Clopton published an online paper outlining their complaints about her Railside report. The story was circulated widely on social media and picked up by the national press.
Return to England
In 2006 Boaler left Stanford for the UK. She was awarded a posting as the Marie Curie professor at Sussex University by the Marie Curie Foundation. While in England, Boaler authored two books, What's Math Got To Do With It? and The Elephant in the Classroom.
Return to California
In 2010, Boaler returned to Stanford and resumed her position as Professor of Mathematics Education. In 2013, Boaler taught the first Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on mathematics education, called "How to Learn Math". Its purpose was to educate teachers and parents about a new way of teaching math to help students overcome their fear of math while improving their academic performance. Over 40,000 teachers and parents participated, with about 25,000 completing the full 2-to-16-hour course. At the end of the course, 95% of survey respondents indicated that they would modify their ways of teaching math.</ref>
In addition to focusing on inquiry-based learning, Boaler's research has highlighted the problems associated with ability grouping in England and the US. In 2012, Boaler published articles on the links between timed testing and math anxiety. Boaler had conducted research on mathematics, mistakes, and growth mindset. In 2012 Boaler published an article on her Stanford homepage, accusing Milgram, Bishop (and others) of harassment, persecution, and suppression. Bishop and Milgram each issued rebuttals.
In 2013, Boaler founded youcubed.org with Cathy Williams, former director of Mathematics in the Vista Unified School District. The mission of the site is to offer inspirational mathematics resources for mathematics teachers.
In 2014, the San Francisco Unified School District updated its math program, including removal of algebra from their public middle schools. The effort removed honors classes and accelerated math, placing all students into the same curriculum based on grade. The replacement curriculum was heavily based on Boaler's work, and had groups of students work through a series of math tasks. In an Op-Ed signed by Boaler and several colleagues, the group praised the effort, claiming the repeat rate for 9th grade algebra dropped from 40% to 8%. However, a school district spokesperson reportedly later clarified that those numbers were not related to curriculum changes, but rather it was a "one-time major drop" that occurred when placement tests were removed.
As Common Core was being launched in 2015, Boaler pointed out that fluency is often taken to mean memorization and speed. This ignited a controversy in England, prompting Charlie Stripp, director of England's National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics to respond in an op-ed.
2023 California Math Framework
Boaler is one of the original authors of the California Department of Education's controversial Mathematics Framework. Based on the work Boaler and Youcubed, among others, the framework faced considerable criticism and pushback. Following years of delays the framework was finally approved in July 2023 by the state board of education after changes recommended by WestEd were integrated into the document.
In March 2024 an anonymous complaint was sent to Stanford's dean of research alleging Boaler had violated the research policies of the university. Boaler's work on the 2023 revision of the California Math Curriculum Framework was alleged to contain numerous misrepresentations and inaccuracies. In response, Boaler said that the accusations demonstrated "a lack of understanding of educational research protocols and processes." As with the earlier complaint from 2006, the university declined to investigate the matter, stating that the allegations were reviewed and they "reflect scholarly disagreement and interpretation."
Awards and honors
- 2000 – 2004 President: International Organisation of Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME)
- 2014 NCSM (National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics) Kay Gilliland Equity Award
- 2016 The California Mathematics Council Walter Denham Memorial Award for Leadership
- 2019 The Nomellini-Olivier Endowed Chair
